This unusual name has two possible origins, the first and most likely being from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Wilmaer", composed of the elements "Wil", meaning "will, desire" and "maer", famous. The second possible origin is from the English locational name "Willmore", from the places called "Wildmore" in Lincolnshire and Worcestershire. The placename means "waste moor", from the Old English elements "wild", meaning" wild, uncultivated, waste (land)", and "mor", moor marsh or fern. It can also be a topographical surname, denoting residence at or by such a natural feature. One, "Matthew Willmer married Ann Warner at St. Georges, Hanover Square, London, in 1806. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Simon Wilmer. which was dated 1296, Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield, Yorkshire. during the reign of King Edward I, The Hammer of the Scots, 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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